SPOOKY SONGS: A Halloween Mixtape

How many times do we have to have to listen to a dude do his best spooky voice before we put our foot down and demand a proper Halloween playlist?

Mindy Lahiri may have ‘Monster Mash’ on her surgery playlist, but the rest of us are sick of the same old Halloween songs every October. How many times do we have to have to listen to a dude do his best ~spo-OOoOoky~ voice before we put our foot down and demand a proper Halloween playlist?

Worry not, friends: we’re here to help. Especially for you, we’ve created an awesome Halloween playlist, so the days of the Addams Family theme song on repeat is over.

Initially discovered through The Voice, Melanie Martinez’s ‘Carousel’ is the perfect creepy-dance track every Halloween party was missing. “American Horror Story: Freakshow” fans will recognize the riff from the trailers for the show.

The looping vocals and sharp twists featured in this this beautifully haunting tune takes you on a musically delectable journey through dark woods, perfect for the moment you’re trying to figure out exactly what you’re going to wear that night.

It starts off sounding like the perfect classical movie soundtrack, only to be soothed into edgier and grating vocal prowess by Karen O. “Love don’t cry,” she murmurs, over and over. I’d wager this upbeat yet haunting song will only fill you with the determination to kick ass.

Don’t expect a mellow experience with this one – it’s enough to pull you out of any funk that might be left over from the week, as the beats of the background drum pushes you to get it together and get rid of the ghosts of your life past.

Listen to this song twice if you can, only one go won’t give you the full melancholy listening experience. The Bloom Twins know how to capture the sadder facet to existence, in simple lyrics drawn out carefully, medically, aesthetically.

We still don’t understand why Ellie Goulding picked up steam when this brilliant, funky, original Irish artist didn’t. Give Cathey a chance for a song that is more upbeat than you might have thought you needed – but totally want.

Siouxsie’s subversive yet danceable post-punk music is fitting for those who wanna get their jam on, but still wanna be all edgy and punk while doing it.

We’re all about highlighting the best of music that you don’t really hear on the radio: music by underrepresented voices, tunes by your best friend you believe really needs to be out there, what you’re convinced will be the next big underground hit (or maybe it’ll be above ground – we don’t discriminate!). If you’re musically inclined and want to see your suggestion maybe featured in a future mixtape, we want you to throw your song(s) in the hat. All suggestions go – except for shitty top 40 music, stuff that makes the neighbors vomit over how lame it is, or music that’s just hateful against a group of people (unless they’re oppressive, in which case it’s a little different).